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City boosts police funding to replace eye in the sky

There are 10 cameras in downtown Barrie with a total of 15 feeds

Barrie police received a bump in funding Monday night from the city to replace and continue operation of downtown surveillance cameras. 

City police say they don't have the budget for the cameras, so council voted, with minimal discussion, to increase police funding to cover the camera costs.

The Barrie Police Service (BPS) will continue to manage the cameras, but the city increased its funding this year to $265,000 to help fund the system’s capital and operating costs. Of that, $225,000 will go to the BPS capital reserve to be used in 2020 and 2021 to replace the cameras, and $45,000 will go toward their operation and maintenance this year.

The cameras are nearly six years old and need to be replaced, due to a risk of hardware failure. Degradation in pan-tilt-zoom capabilities has already happened, according to a staff report. 

With major work on Dunlop Street scheduled to begin in the fall, it should provide a chance to incorporate new cameras into the overall design.

There has also been interest in installing more cameras downtown, including at the Barrie Public Library branch and Memorial Square/Meridian Place.

While the police department manages the recordings, the city's IT department looks after the cameras and connectivity, as well as hosting the system. 

Last June, the Barrie Police Services Board recommended transferring the cameras to the city, but city staff said having BPS continue to maintain the camera system had the least administrative and operational implication.

The surveillance cameras were initially approved by city council in November 2011 to improve downtown safety.

In 2012, Barrie police commissioned 10 camera locations, with some of the locations having multiple lenses, for a total of 15 video feeds available today. 

They're considered a good source of evidence and help deter crime in the area, police say.

In 2017, video evidence from the downtown cameras was used 48 times.


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Raymond Bowe

About the Author: Raymond Bowe

Raymond is an award-winning journalist who has been reporting from Simcoe County since 2000
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